Nov 8 Cold-Weather Arsenal: Lush Ultrabland

Autumn leaves, Diwali lights, Hallowe’en costumes, Christmas shopping and new TV programmes. All beautiful things that brighten the darkening days. But as lovely as those things are, they do nothing to help me deal with what this time of year also brings: drier skin.

You’re attacked outside by the harsh wind and cold and besieged inside by the central heating. It’s time to add some heavy duty products to your arsenal and kicking off a series of cold weather recommendations is Lush’s Ultrabland facial cleanser.

Ultrabland is already well known as an awesome first step cleanser / make-up remover. This is the only cleanser I have which doesn’t need me to first remove my eye make-up separately with a micellar water, because it never stings my eyes when rubbing it into liner and mascara. But I really do like it as a standalone cleanser / second cleanse too. After removing with a damp warm flannel, it leaves my skin a lot softer and gives me a headstart on my moisturising routine. For those with normal skin they could possibly even forgo moisturiser, it's that good.

It is like a butter that turns to oil when you rub it into your skin. That consistency makes it very pleasurable to take your time and massage into your face, which is good for skin and mind after a long day. Ultrabland contains Fresh Iris Extract and Rose Absolute which are for fragrance as well as their soothing properties, but to me it mostly smells nutty with Almond Oil as the primary ingredient. The rest of the ingredients are quite simple and that’s why it's fine for my sensitive skin. (Although I avoid using on broken skin, because I do think you have to remove this thick cleanser with a flannel rather than a cotton pad).

This Tender-Loving-Cleanser is available in varying sizes, starting at 45g for £7.95. Don’t forget when you have 5 empty Lush pots, you can exchange them in store for a fresh face mask, which is nice.